This View Sure Would Be Prettier With You
by RocketNinja
Summary: Events pick up immediately after the ICCA's. Beca now won the competition, and got the boy. But will her happiness be good enough for Chloe's broken heart? Rated M simply because I want to keep it as realistic to the characters as possible, and in real life, people swear, drink and generally get up to no good sometimes.
1. After the Finals

_'That song... was for _him_?'_ Chloe thought, as her heart shattered into what felt like a million pieces.

The explosion of the crowd was euphoria, pure joy that enveloped them all as the Bellas made their way off the stage to await the announcement that declared the winners of that year's ICCA finals; it was theirs, they earned it, they were wonderful and everyone in the building knew it that night. Tugging on and tripping over each other as a tight group while they made their way off stage left, these group of girls were still giddy and stumbling as they found their reserved row out on the audience floor. It was while Chloe fumbled to her seat, clutching fast to Aubrey's hand and smiling so huge her cheeks hurt, that she realized her other hand should have also been occupied - by Beca.

The younger girl had desperately tried to maintain a mysterious distance with Chloe just as she had done with the other girls at the beginning of the a capella season, but the bubbly redhead would have none of her usual closed-off demeanor from the start, and the two had quickly become "fast friends". It made sense then, for Chloe to wonder why Beca had suddenly gone missing, and she whirled around to see if maybe the girl had stayed onstage for some reason. Not finding here there, she quickly scanned the section of seating that had been reserved for performers and family - and the smile that had just held her face alight sank faster than a plummeting stone into water, as did her heart.

Beca had already made her way to the crowd, it seemed, dashing ahead of the rest of their group to run to the one person Chloe had hoped to have seen the last of for good - Jesse. Letting herself get pulled into his tight embrace, Beca threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss that any John Hughes movie would have died for. And in that instant, she knew.

Only three days before the finals, Beca had rushed in to practice, eyes bright with determination to add one last song to their set list. _Don't You (Forget About Me)_ had been launched into fame alongside the iconic move The Breakfast Club, and Chloe had always loved the song, so she of course was one hundred percent behind the idea of incorporating it into their set, even though the hurriedly added choreo would be a bitch for everyone to master this close to the ICCA's. Then again, Chloe was supportive of almost anything involving Beca Mitchell these days.

To know that she had worked so hard, and helped bring the Bella's so far with that song, only to have it be for _him_... it was too much for Chloe just then. All the Bella's at this point had been seated, and she realized that she must have been staring at Beca for much too long, and there was Aubrey stepping in front of her to block her view of the kissing pair, deep concern etched in her forehead. Stark horror and grief was written all over Chloe's face, and when her eyes met those of her blonde best friend just then, she saw a spark of recognition in them, and then a flare of anger. Turning to follow her gaze, Aubrey also spied Beca and Jesse, then whipped her head back around to face Chloe, who had by now plastered on the worse fake smile she'd ever used.

_"She knows.. God, Bree _**_knows_**_ why seeing that makes me so sick and now she's going to want answers and please, God, just kill me where I stand..."_

Chloe heavily dumped her body in her reserved seat, Aubrey's glare at her softening somewhat before she took the seat next to her. Only a few minutes passed before Beca was there, and the heat coming off of her body was only inches from Chloe, and her blissful smile tore a hole through her, and the fact that she was still jabbering excitedly but didn't notice anything was wrong was just about the absolute end of what Chloe could stand.


	2. Will You Stay?

The Bellas had accepted their trophy, taken their pictures, and signed their autographs for the adoring fans in the audience (mostly comprised of their parents and siblings). Through all of this, Chloe was surprised at how quickly she was able to put a mask on for her fellow Bellas and swallow the horrible feelings of jealousy, betrayal and _sadness_ that had engulfed her watching Beca with Jesse. Careful to avoid her best friend's gaze for the rest of the entire night, she still knew without a doubt that Aubrey was watching her like a hawk, and would not allow what she'd witnessed to rest once they were alone.

Beca on the other hand, was positively exuberant. There was no end of the other girls' praise of her leadership for that final event, and Chloe knew that she deserved this, her moment of pure happiness. Beca had deserved one of these nights for a very long time, and she would be damned if she didn't allow her to have it.

All the Bellas had agreed to come back to Aubrey and Chloe's place for the night of the finals, since they didn't live on campus and had a fairly large living room for everyone to crash. The bus ride back had been hell for Chloe, who kept her fake smile plastered on the whole way back. But if that had been hell, getting pulled aside by Beca once they reached home was excruciating. While everyone, including Aubrey, went inside to continue the celebrations with drink, Beca had caught Chloe's hand and tugged her a few feet away from the door, just to the edge of the light spilling out from the doorway. There, she had pulled her close, wrapping her arms around the older girl's neck in a vice grip, not unlike Chloe had just seen her do with Jesse only hours ago.

It felt like Beca was squeezing her heart instead of her neck, but she wrapped her arms about Beca's middle anyway, in an embrace that was tight, familiar and just a touch too intimate for a normal friendship. It was easy to return the crushing hug that Beca was giving her, but far from easy to remember to be happy as Beca laughed into her neck, still jubilant from the night's success.

"We won! Chloe, we did it! We were amazing and we won, and..."

Beca's voice trailed off as she finally took a good look at the redhead's face, her arms quickly dropping as her smile dropped away to be replaced by confusion and concern. She must have realized that the smile hadn't reached her eyes, and as Chloe mentally cursed herself, she tried harder to smile, leaving her with something resembling a grimace instead.

"What's wrong, Chlo'? You're not happy.. and don't bother with that, I know when your smiles aren't real. I know that much by now."

She finished that last sentence in a whisper, and crossed her arms over her own chest, waiting for an answer. Chloe simply shrugged, relieved almost to be free of the hideous fake smile, and took her time to answer.

"I am happy about tonight, Beca. Really, I am. Just.. I'm scared, now, that nothing will be the same for us, now that we've won."

Seeing the shocked look on Beca's face, followed by absolute confusion, Chloe decided to speak again quickly. The last thing she wanted to do at this point was offer any explanation other than _I'm tired_.

"I really haven't had a chance to process exactly what I mean yet, so don't ask me tonight, Becks. I'm sorry.. I just need to soak everything all in first, and most of all, I need to crash. I'm exhausted. Will you stay tomorrow, after everyone leaves?"

Beca nods slightly, eliciting a small smile from Chloe, and followed after the redhead when she turned to go inside and join the rest of the Bellas. Beca knew better than to push; Chloe was normally so open and upfront about everything, so if she wanted to keep whatever was on her mind to herself for now, Beca would risk making it worse if she pushed for information. She was the complete opposite of Aubrey in that way, and she knew it. If only that girl would learn when Chloe actually needed space... _'Different fight for a different day,'_ Beca thought, and locked the door behind her after they entered the apartment.


	3. A Cold Goodnight

All the girls were still riding the wave of the feeling their success had brought, and unsurprisingly, most of them were already on their way to tipsy, with drinks going all around. Chloe excused herself from the party with some difficulty to retreat upstairs to her bedroom, where she promptly locked the door behind her and began to peel off her performance clothes, getting ready for a long, hot shower. Surprisingly, Aubrey hadn't wanted the master bedroom, so Chloe was able to have a shower completely to herself.

The last thing to come off was her bra, and she groaned in exhaustion as her tired arms reached behind her back to unclasp it. Just before she did however, she heard a small _*tap tap*_ on her door. Knowing it wasn't Aubrey - she would never have knocked like that - Chloe threw on the pair of gym shorts she'd left draped across her bed earlier, and strode across the room to unlock her door. When she opened it, her light blue eyes met Beca's dark ones, and in spite of how bruised her heart felt just then, she let shine a genuine smile for her friend. Beca returned the smile, relief causing a small sigh to escape her lips as she crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Hope you don't mind, but I'm not much of a drinker, so... thought I'd come to bed early too."

"Of course," said the older girl. "I was just about to shower, then you can too, if you like."

Beca nodded and gave another quick smile before she was alone in the bedroom, listening to the shower start up in the adjoining room. Taking in another look around Chloe's room, she reflected on the strange fact that she found herself there at all. Beca had never been one to tolerate sleepovers, but then, she found herself breaking a lot of her own rules when it came to her blossoming friendship with Chloe over the last several months. Hugs had become much more common in her life, as did tickle fights, pillow fights, fights over the remote control, and finally fights over which side of the bed to sleep on.

By the time she even consented to stay the night at Chloe's place, the prospect of sleeping in the same bed hadn't seemed as weird as it should have been, for her. Chloe would hear none of this "couch" shit though, and had practically forced Beca to promise she wouldn't wander off to sleep downstairs on the couch after the redhead had fallen asleep. Since that night, every time Beca stayed over, she'd slept with Chloe in her bed. The situation was never reversed though, and Beca was fine with that - her relationship with Kimmy Jin was still unfriendly enough to relish nights away from her roommate.

Using her toes to kick off first one shoe, then the other, Beca laid back on Chloe's bed, legs still dangling off the edge, listening to the rushing of the shower beyond the closed bathroom door. Closing her eyes and letting her mind wander while she waited for her friend to reemerge, Beca went over the events of the last twenty-four hours in her mind, from last minute rehearsals and packing, to their set, and then to the triumph she felt as she ran off the stage... Jesse's lips were hot and hard against hers, crashing into her mouth excitedly as he accepted her apology of "You're such a weirdo."

And then without quite knowing when or how it happened, Beca found her thoughts drifting back to just a few minutes before, when Chloe had opened her bedroom door, dressed in nothing but her little black bra and light blue gym shorts, and even though she was tired and a light sheen of sweat still shone on her skin, she looked good.. but then again, Beca had always thought of the other girl as beautiful..

Suddenly, Beca was aware of two things: that her breathing had rapidly increased, and there was no longer any sound coming from the bathroom. With heat rising up the back of her neck, her eyes flew open and again came into contact with Chloe's, who was standing there in nothing but a towel, a strange look on her face that quickly vanished as their gazes locked.

"I'm done, if you wanna shower," was all she said, keeping her tone light. Still, something just didn't seem quite.. right. A tiny, nagging feeling that Beca couldn't understand took up residence in the back of her mind, but for now, it was easy to ignore. Smiling, she rose off the bed, though that flush was still high on her neck and she knew that her thoughts of only moments before were enough to make her want the shower to be a _cold_ one.

When Beca had also finished showering, she stepped out to find Chloe already in her customary sleepware, curled up on her side in bed. A frown marred her lips then, as Chloe's back was facing her. Both her tank top and boy shorts were gray, and it seemed to Beca that just then, her mood was too. Still, she had no idea how to fix it, or what even went wrong. Any previous thoughts of a half-naked Chloe had already fled her mind by then, preoccupied as she was with her best friend's cold shoulder.

After drying off and slipping into her own oversized t-shirt, she climbed into bed next to the one girl she desperately wanted to fall asleep with laughing long into the night like they so often did these days. Instead, she turned off the bedside lamp, turned so that her back faced Chloe's, and whispered a simple "...goodnight."


	4. Half Truths

The next day, Beca awoke to find that Chloe was gone, and the bed was cold. With a frown, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and made to stand, when she spotted a small card propped against the lamp on the night table with a note. Short and to the point, Beca flipped the note to the backside, wondering if there was more to it. There wasn't.

_Be back soon_

Beca took that to mean she had better wait for her best friend to come home, so she took her time stretching and rubbing her eyes before reaching for her phone. She wasn't quite sure what was going on with Chloe, or whether the tension she thought she'd felt between them would still be there upon her return. Just then though, a small, happy smile lit up her face at the sight of a text from Jesse.

_morning beautiful :)_

_'That's it then?'_ She thought, equally slightly amused and annoyed. _'We're together now? No sweeping me off my feet?'_ She quickly typed out an answer to him.

_Not so fast. You've never seen the horror that is my morning bedhead._

_send a pic, let me see_

_Never._

With that, she locked her screen and padded downstairs to the kitchen, too lazy to brush her teeth before looking for some breakfast.

* * *

"Two iced caramel macchiatos, please. One with extra cream."

Chloe allowed herself a brief smile as she stood in the line to wait for her order. The fact that she even knew what Beca would drink in a place like this was not lost on her, and she found herself wondering bitterly if Jesse knew what kind of coffee Beca liked. Or the fact that her favorite breakfast food was greasy fast food takeout, or that her favorite dinner was actually scrambled eggs and waffles, and that Chloe had never met someone who was so adorably backwards before, and...

Her reverie was interrupted by the completion of her order, and as she left the Starbucks, she shook her head to try and clear it. Months ago, she realized that trying to get Beca out of her head was impossible, so she had settled for accepting the constant presence of her thoughts about the girl, and simply tried not to let it show.

On the way back to her apartment, Chloe pulled into the drive-thru of the closest Arby's, thinking that if she was about to feed into Beca's terrible fast-food-for-breakfast habit, it should at least be decent fast food. Picking out a hot turkey sandwich she was sure Beca would like, she got herself something as well, vowing to make up for the extra calories at the gym later. By the time she turned into the parking lot of her apartment, she was humming a tune, her usual smile back in place and all traces of the previous night's sadness pushed firmly from her mind.

In truth, she wasn't surprised that Beca and Jesse had ended up together. She genuinely wanted her friend to be happy, and she could see that around Jesse, she was. She had even encouraged Beca to spend more time with him after finally giving way before the boy's advances (but to just make sure to keep it friendly until after finals, she'd added with a wink).

But then, everything had turned on its head. Semi-finals had ended in disaster. Whatever budding relationship that might have been growing between Jesse and Beca was ruthlessly stamped down by her outburst, and the ticking time bomb that had been Beca and Aubrey's relationship finally exploded. The girl Chloe had grown so close to in such a short amount of time now shut her out completely, along with the rest of the Bellas. That, in turn, caused a falling out between herself and Aubrey, who still maintained she had done nothing wrong. They hadn't seen much of each other in the weeks that followed, Chloe having opted to stay with her mother instead.

By the time she'd returned to the apartment, Chloe was simply determined to be happy and simply enjoy the time she still had with Beca, and had fun managing the balancing act of two coffees and breakfast while trying to shut the door behind her quietly, in case Beca was still sleeping. That concern was moot, however, when she heard a soft delighted squeal behind her, followed by the clink of porcelain on the counter-top. Beca immediately rushed over to help, taking the bag of food and the coffee cup she was handed.

"Coffee and Arby's! You do love me," Beca said, and Chloe was glad she had turned back to the kitchen just then, because she knew she didn't have time to hide the pain that had just flashed across her features. She had composed herself, however, by the time Beca turned around to face her again, a strange look on her face.

"Are we.. okay?"

Her voice seemed uncharacteristically small, and it cause Chloe's forehead to furrow in sympathy.

"Of course we're okay, Becks. I'm sorry about my weird mood last night. I guess while everyone was celebrating, I was sort of taking it all in, and I realized.. my life is going to completely change now. This year, even though it was crazy, was the best year I've had so far in college. I was so happy we won last night, but I couldn't help thinking that Aubrey and I'll never get to go through this again with you ladies, and I've come to love you all so much."

Chloe's throat was constricted. What she'd just told Beca wasn't exactly a lie, but she needed to say something other than the whole truth, just then. From the look on Beca's face, she seemed to understand. Chloe spotted something on the counter next to the sink as she reached for the Arby's bag, to take out everything inside. Once she saw the cereal bowl with a spoon in it, she frowned. Beca, following her line of sight, got up to put the bowl and spoon away.

"I was just about to have some cereal, but you came home just in time. No worries, I'm still gonna eat those delicious curly fries."

That brought a laugh out of Chloe as she finished unpacking their easy meal, and she quietly dug in with Beca. They ate in silence, both of them comfortable enough that no needless chatter had to be used to fill the air.

Chloe kept stealing glances at the brunette, curled up with her legs pulled up around her in the barstool that was used for the breakfast bar. The giant t-shirt she was wearing hung almost to her knees, but in this position, quite a bit of leg was exposed, and Chloe couldn't help but appreciate that. The shirt's collar was so wide on the tiny brunette that it drooped down her left shoulder when she wore it, and in this pose, Chloe thought for the thousandth time that her friend was simply beautiful.

When finally they ate and their coffee was gone, Beca stood to clean everything up as Chloe's phone chimed. Much to her dismay, though she didn't let that show, it was Aubrey.

_Heading home early. we are talking when i get there._

Chloe groaned internally, knowing that there would be no way to avoid this conversation.

"Who was that?" Beca asked innocently.

"Aubrey."

"Ah."

Even though the pair had been able to work through their musical differences, there was still too much history there for either of them to be completely comfortable with other quite yet, so the younger girl had let it drop. Aubrey had at least tried, for Chloe's sake, to incorporate as many of Beca's new ideas as possible for the finals. The blonde had no idea why Beca meant so much to her best friend. Until now, apparently.

As soon as Chloe set her phone down, both of their text message alerts rang out again, several times in a row. They shared an amused look while reading the group messages at the same time, and both of them broke out in giggles at the content.

**Stacie:** _Party tonight, aca-bitches!_

**Amy:** _This girl is bringing the drinks. There's something with fire and liquid nitrogen you flat butts need to try_

**Stacie:** _All meet at Chloe and Aubrey's house by 7?_

**Amy:** _Does anyone know where to get a blowtorch. If so bring it_

**Cynthia-Rose:** _Please don't let Amy bring fire._

**Lily:** _would a flame thrower work_

**Ashley:** _I want to live to see the next day._

Incredulous, Chloe typed a quick response, Beca's face red with laughter.

**Chloe:** _No. Fire._

Bringing her eyes up to meet Beca's, they both broke out in a renewed fit of laughter, wiping tears from their eyes as this time, only Chloe's phone chimed.

**Aubrey:** _Our talk is still on._

That last message was for Chloe's eyes only, and when her laughter abruptly stopped and she sighed instead, Beca of course noticed. Setting down her phone and silencing it, she leaned forward and looked questioningly at Chloe. With a small, sad smile, Chloe gave another half-truth.

"Aubrey again. She wanted to talk to me tonight. Probably about what's in our immediate future."

Hitching up the corner of her mouth, Beca half-jokingly said, "She doesn't waste any time, does she? But I've been thinking about that a lot too, actually."

The confession took both of them by surprise. Beca didn't freely offer up information like that. It was becoming easier though, in times like this, when it was just Chloe, and there wasn't as much pressure to put up her barriers.

"What do you mean?"

"Well.." Beca slowly began, "Beale, you've grown on me. And I s'pose Aubrey has too," she added with an eyeroll and a smile, producing a grin from the redhead. "So, yeah. The thought of you guys ever not being here... that really sucks. And it's been on my mind lately. A lot."

The sadness in her voice trickled past her carefully concealed emotions. In that moment, Chloe couldn't help but feel a small, warm ball of light grow in her chest, and a smile adorned her face.

"You're gonna miss me. Awh! You do have a heart, Beca Mitchell!"

With that, she threw her arms around Beca for a brief, bone-crushing hug. When finally she pulled back, Beca looked quite scandalized

"Don't you dare let anyone else know," she warned, while Chloe laughed.

"Don't worry, Becks. I won't let anyone else know. While sober, anyway," she added with a wink, causing Beca to groan good-naturedly.

"Whatever. I'm gonna head back to Barden to shower and stuff. Wanna do lunch before everyone arrives to get shit-faced?"

Another small laugh from Chloe as she agreed. "I have nothing for the rest of the day. Text me when you're ready, we'll head to Zaffiro's?

It was their favorite pizza place. Beca nodded and rose to gather her clothes from last night and leave.


	5. Backfire

Chloe decided before long to make her way to the gym for some cardio. While most of the other Bellas weren't fans of the routine, the workout actually helped Chloe to relax and think calmly. During her warm-up stretches, she decided to face all the thoughts swirling around in her head.

Without a doubt, she liked Beca as way more than just a friend. She had always found her attractive, but ever since ambushing her in the showers, she was definitely attracted _to_ her. But seeing Beca's audition had her completely enraptured with the younger girl, and it took more than a little convincing for Aubrey to agree to making her a Bella.

Moving onto her core exercises after filling up her water bottle, Chloe thought back to hood night, and the crazy initiation party that followed. After having a few drinks with Aubrey and Amy, the redhead turned to see a brand new Treblemaker engaging Beca in conversation. When Beca pushed him away and he left, Chloe was elated. At the time, she'd thought it was because Aubrey would definitely not let her stay after even kissing a Treble.

She'd run up to her then, the drink in her system causing her inhibitions to drop even more than usual as she predicted their friendship, bringing Beca's face in close and barely keeping from kissing her just then. She found herself staring at the brunette's lips and how soft they looked.. but knowing that Tom was waiting for her, and that she was definitely not sober enough to make this decision, Chloe not so subtly shook her ass and left. It wasn't until her and Aubrey went home that night she'd learned the Treble had come back.

While taking a quick break for a drink of water, she sneaked a look at her phone and nearly choked. Two and a half hours had passed already, and Beca had sent a text five minutes ago saying that Stacie would be joining them for pizza, if that was okay. She quickly replied back saying that yes, that would be fine, and decided to wrap up her work out.

* * *

"So, who is that super cute new Treble? And what happened to Bumper? Not like I'll miss him or anything."

Stacie broached the subject in her usual light, flirty tone as she sipped her milkshake through a straw, managing somehow to make even this simple task uncomfortably erotic. Beca spoke up first, desperately glad in the change of subject from how soon her and Jesse would consummate their relationship, which had also been started by Stacie.

"That's Benji. He's a really good guy, but doesn't have a lot of friends. Bumper made sure of that. Now that he's gone, though.. I'm really glad Benji got his chance with the Trebles. He deserves it."

Chloe looked up from her slice of margherita pizza, having mostly managed to move around the toppings instead of actually eating it.

"Benji? You mean the sound guy who was backstage with us, from semi-finals? I thought he looked familiar." Beca nodded, grinning. "You sound like you know him pretty well."

"Well, yeah. I mean, Jesse's sorta his best friend. And Benji is definitely his, apart from Donald. When I sort of.. wasn't talking to anybody.. Benji would still talk to me. We got to know each other pretty well. I count him as a good friend."

Stacie raised both eyebrows and adopted an overly-sarcastic manner of surprise, stage whispering to Chloe as if Beca couldn't hear them.

"I think there's something wrong with Beca.. she keeps making friends lately!"

In retaliation, Beca stole Stacie's pizza slice and took a huge bite out of it, replacing the piece with her own leftover crust. Stacie cried out indignantly, to which Chloe's bubbling laughter could be heard over Beca's coughing fit, from her giggling over the look on Stacie's face. Between the three of them, they made such a racket that their check was brought and they were asked to pay and leave. Stacie had then proceeded to somehow flirt with the manager and get his number, persuading him not to ban him from the restaurant despite the complaints of the other patrons.

Beca was still shaking her head in disbelief as the three of them approached a taxi that would take them back to Chloe's house. She was trying to frame a question, but thought better of it in the end as they climbed in. Still new to one on one time with Stacie, she didn't want to offend her with anything she might have to say. Chloe, however, seemed to think differently.

"Doesn't it ever bother you that men fall all over themselves just because you bat your eyes and show some cleavage?" Chloe opened, her tone light but her face serious. Stacie just laughed a little before replying, and brought out her ever-present mini manicure kit, beginning to treat her nails.

"Did you even hear you just now? Men do what I ask because I'm nice to them, and they like to think I can fulfill their every fantasy. And I often do," she finished with a wink.

"But.. why?" came the quiet response from Beca.

This time, Stacie wasn't so quick with her smile, and her answer came just a fraction of a second slower than before. That pause said more to Beca than Stacie's words ever could, but she decided to let it go after Stacie gave a non-committal answer of "Because it works."

Back at the apartment, Stacie immediately jumped into listing off what she told everyone to bring, and refused to look Chloe in the eyes when she denied knowledge of any products known to cause fire.

While in the middle of her being ordered by Chloe to call off Fat Amy's fiery plans, Beca's phone started playing a version of Ne-Yo's "Closer" that she remixed herself. The tips of her ears turned a light shade of pink, and she excused herself to the kitchen to take the call, saying that it was Jesse with a shrug. After she left, Chloe realized that she was still staring at the spot Beca had previously occupied not ten seconds ago.

"I'm sorry, Chloe."

The words came from Stacie, and as Chloe turned to face her, she must have shown just how plainly startled she was to hear them.

"Sorry? For what?"

"I was rooting for you guys too, you know. So was Amy, Cynthia Rose.. pretty much all the rest of the girls. Except Aubrey. I still don't think she ever realized what was going on."

"What are you talking about?" Chloe demanded, a lurching dread licking its way up her throat. She, of course, knew exactly what Stacie was talking about. She definitely did NOT want to hear it, mainly because _how did any of them know?_ Was she really so obvious? And, god, what if Beca picked up on her too.. or any of the Trebles.. oh, no..

"Only us girls know, Chloe. Really only Fat Amy and I knew, and we filled them in. No one else does. We made sure they knew to keep it to themselves." Stacie spoke as if she could read Chloe's true thoughts. "The way you feel about Beca.. we really wanted it to work for you two. She really does care about you. She's just, you know.. kinda stupid. She's got no idea you love her, and now because of Jesse you won't say anything."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement of fact, and partly a condolence. Chloe, mortified, just stared, unable to speak. The look of sympathy on Stacie's face was too much, and finally she had to turn away. Hearing Beca chatting away happily to Jesse from the kitchen, she had to admit, made her want to crawl into bed and cry. Instead, she whispered so low that Stacie had to lean forward to hear it.

"How did you know? And.. I think Aubrey finally figured it out. Tonight, she wants to make me talk about it before the party. And I really don't want to."

A frown immediately clouded Stacie's face as she moved forward to answer, keeping her voice down as well.

"I knew right away. I have a special radar for these things. And Amy was going to say something to Beca about it, but I convinced her not to. You wouldn't believe the amount of effort she's putting into letting Beca stay in the dark. It's not like her to keep secrets, you know. But, Chloe.. if you really don't want to acknowledge it, I get that. Aubrey shouldn't make you confront something if it's only going to make your friendship with Beca uncomfortable. Just remember that eventually, you are gonna need to tell her."

That last sentence wasn't expected, and Chloe whirled around. Her eyes were wide, scared and searching Stacie's, as if desperate to know that she would keep her promise to stay out of it with Beca.

"What are you talking about? That is the last thing Beca needs. I'll never be able to tell-"

When Stacie's eyes went wide, Chloe quickly clamped her mouth shut. She no longer heard Beca's light-hearted tone from the kitchen.

"Never be able to tell Beca what, Chloe?"

In place of how happy she'd sounded moments before, her voice now sounded cold and flat. It made Chloe flinch a little, as if Beca had threatened to hit her. Turning to face her, Chloe was at a loss for words. She started stuttering, stumbling over her words and not managing to get anything coherent out. Beca was visibly becoming more agitated, and when her eyes started darting toward the door, Stacie took a leap and decided to step in.

"Chloe was accepted to a couple of graduate schools she applied to. Ones that are pretty far away."

Chloe turned to stare at Stacie full in the face, and the furious glare she gave her caused her to shrug as if to say _This could have gone much worse, and you know it._ When Chloe finally did turn back around to face Beca, the younger girl looked stricken, and a lot of the color seemed to have leeched out of her face. Stacie took this moment to excuse herself to the now-empty kitchen, more to eavesdrop without them noticing than anything. Beca was the first to break the following silence.

"Seriously, Chloe? When were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what, Beca? I just got accepted, I didn't agree to go to any of them. Nothing is set in stone yet."

The disbelieving look that Beca gave her just then caused an irrational streak of anger to flare up within her, but she managed to tamp it down. Her next words still came out more rough than she meant, though.

"Aside from the fact that I don't even know which schools they _are_, I'm also looking into schools close by, and why would you even care anyway, you act like I'm breaking your heart or something!"

Beca was too stunned at the realization of how deeply those words cut into her to remember how to hide the pain on her face. Chloe must have seen it, because her face paled just as quickly as it flushed in anger and embarrassment moments earlier.

"You know I care, Chloe."

(The words were just above whispering level now, and Stacie had to strain to hear.)

"No, what I know is that it would 'kinda suck' not having me around to complain to about everything and use as an excuse to escape your shitty roommate. You sit there and act like you're upset about me leaving, but what does it matter to you? You weren't going to stick around anyway, it's not like you were seriously considering choosing another year at Barden over finally moving to Hollywood to be a big music star."

Chloe emphasized Beca's earlier words with finger quotes in the air, and as soon as the spiteful words came out she regretted them instantly. The hurt on Beca's face quickly disappeared into a stony mask of malice, and her words were thick with sarcasm.

"Oh no, that's where you're wrong, Beale. Who would choose getting to go after their dream in LA over staying in fucking Georgia with a complete shit for a dad who doesn't know when to quit and a fucking circus troupe of girls who can't get their shit together long enough to win a single competition for their neo-Nazi psychopath leader? That person would just be fucking crazy. Or, that person might just have realized that being in East Fuck Nowhere, Georgia was a huge, stupid mistake, and the sooner she can get on a plane, the fucking better."

Storming past Chloe, the tiny brunette left a huge feeling of shame, shock and unease in her wake.

At the precise moment that Beca reached for the door, several things happened:

"Oh no you DON'T!" came a screech from the kitchen as Stacie, rightly guessing that Beca was about to run, came skidding out of the kitchen on her socks, ready to catch Beca and physically hold her down if necessary and force her to talk it out.

"You fucking little MIDGET!" came an even higher screech from upstairs where Aubrey had been hiding. She'd gotten home early, true to her word, and had chosen to eavesdrop on the conversation before flying down the stairs to either kick Beca out herself, or kick her ass. Probably the latter.

The front door exploded open and banged against the wall hard enough that a new hole the size of the doorknob was punched through the drywall under the soft yellow paint of the entryway. Fat Amy was drawing a heaving breath and lowered her leg, letting out a cry of "Feel the FAT POWER!" before charging toward Beca, arms outstretched like a hungry bear.

Chloe's legs gave out and she began to sob, as the reality of losing Beca forever hit home and it dawned on her that she'd never again feel so broken and alone over someone she wasn't even in a relationship with. Her choking cries teared at her throat, and though her vision was blurry through tears, she could only watch in awe and horror at the sight of the next few seconds.

Time slowed, and nearly froze. Beca's system was already pumping with adrenaline over the spike in her emotions from the yelling match she just had with Chloe, and as her mind kicked into overdrive, she was able to process all these things separately. It was as if she was on the outside, watching a movie inch forward in slow motion. And instantly, years of flight conditioning awoke itself in Beca's muscle memory, and she dove to the side and rolled upon hitting the hardwood floor of the living room. Not a fraction of a second had passed, but to her it felt like hours.

Fat Amy collided into an Aubrey coming down the stairs too fast to stop, and the result was a sickening _crunch_ as they both fell over onto the stairs. Stacie, sliding to a graceful stop with her socks, stood in horror over the pair and watched as Aubrey, shrieking in pain, tried to stop Amy from disentangling herself, as she was mistakenly trying to force one of Aubrey's legs to bend the wrong way.

Beca, mind still working in overdrive, gathered herself up in a crouch and looked for all the world like a cornered cat ready to either lunge away or lash out and attack. When it became obvious that the blonde pair were not getting up fast enough, she sprang up from her spot on the floor and was out the door before Stacie could react. As she ran, she heard Stacie calling after her, and out of the corner of her eye saw a taxi van carrying the rest of the Bellas, who were laughing and still looking forward to a party.


	6. No Need For Police

**Author's Note:** **I normally don't like to interrupt the story by injecting my own side thoughts here, but we go down a dark path for one of our girls in this episode. If you have any triggers for assault, be warned. I promise there is nothing graphic here, but this will probably be the only disclaimer I give. If you need to, stop at the words "quiet as a ghost" and pick back up in the next installment. As I explain in the story description, it is rated M for a reason, because sometimes bad things happen and people get in trouble. Thank you.**

* * *

Cynthia Rose and Denise had just finished recounting yet another sordid tale of their brief but intensely passionate relationship in high school. It had left the other girls in stitches, with the exception of Lilly, because for the past twenty minutes, she had simply sat and played with fire - literally.

One of the girls had brought a long-handled barbecue lighter at the behest of Fat Amy and it had somehow fallen into Lilly's hands. She had been continuously flicking the flame on and off while staring into it, much to Ashley's horror. Deciding against calling Lilly out on it, as she seemed to be the only one who had noticed, she simply watched her out of the corner of her eye to make sure she didn't light the van on fire while they were still inside.

When the yellow van pulled up to the curb, all five girls spilled out of it, breathless in their laughter. After divvying up bills to pay the cabbie, they walked a couple of doors up the sidewalk, and up the four stairs to open the outer door of the apartment building.

"Who has the code?" asked Jessica, who never bothered to keep track of Aubrey and Chloe's keypad code to the apartment.

"I do," Denise answered, stepping forward and expertly punching in the small string of numbers that unlocked the outer door. "I have the gift of remembering," she explained, pulling open the door and walking inside. The others seemed mildly impressed - the code was eight numbers long, and Aubrey only trusted Fat Amy with it. Chloe was the one who had written it down for everyone else, who had all promptly lost the papers. This had caused Aubrey to have a small meltdown over who might break into their home, much to Chloe's chagrin.

Once they were up the stairs and approaching number 214, Denise - who was still in front - suddenly reached out and grabbed Cynthia Rose's hand. They both stopped abruptly, causing the rest of the girls to nearly run into them. Everyone fell silent at the sight of the sagging door, open and with the top two hinges very obviously having been forced from the wood.

"Oh no," Ashley whispered, as Cynthia Rose put out an arm to keep the other girls back while she cautiously stepped forward. Ducking under it and completely ignoring the girls' warning hisses went Lilly. Marching purposefully inside, she didn't have to go far before encountering Fat Amy and a still groaning Aubrey sitting -mercifully apart - on the floor at the foot of the staircase. Fat Amy was massaging Aubrey's knee and thigh, alternating between apologizing and swearing something on the Holy Dingo Mother. Stacie could be heard in the kitchen, talking animatedly but with no one responding to her.

Aubrey looked up, swatting Fat Amy's hands away and trying to stand as the other girls filed in. She looked directly into Jessica's eyes and before anyone could react said, "I don't care how you do it, you need to get me in touch with Jesse Swanson." For a moment, Jessica looked just as shocked as the other girls.

"Why me?"

"I know you know his best friend. I don't care about that right now. Just do it."

Then she leveled her gaze at Cynthia Rose.

"I need you to find Chloe. I have a few ideas where you can find her, but start with the planetarium. If it's locked, you and Lilly know what to do. Please," she added in a much softer tone, eyes pleading.

"You got it boss," she said. Lilly nodded, and followed her out the door again. Aubrey called out to them and tossed her car keys to Cynthia Rose, who expertly caught them. With wide eyes and a grim set to her jaw, she simply nodded and let the two of them go. Meanwhile, Jessica was already on the phone, keeping her voice down and moving away from the rest of the girls.

"Bennie, hey... I know you're in the middle of your game, but I was wondering..."

As Aubrey grimaced and lowered herself to the bottom step of the staircase again, Ashley leaned forward and voiced what the rest of the girls had been thinking.

"Aubrey, what happened?"

"Beca," she said flatly, spitting out the name.

* * *

Cynthia Rose got into the driver's seat of Aubrey's weathered green Toyota, while Lilly slipped into the passenger side. The former of the two was immensely grateful to Aubrey, and knew exactly what it meant for her to lend out her car in a time like this. It must be essential to find Chloe as urgently as possible.

"Man, I can't believe Aubrey let me her car like this. This gotta be huge. We gotta find Chloe, quick. I wish I knew where I was goin' though, if she ain't there. We might need to book it somewhere quick, and I don't know shit about the roads outside'a campus."

She then went immediately quiet as Lilly softly murmured that they needn't worry about being pursued if they were discovered breaking into the planetarium; her throwing knives almost always did the trick.

After a beat of silence, she said, "That ain't exactly what I mean, Lil'. But good to know you got my back, girl."

Lilly looked positively gleeful. When they pulled up to the campus a few moments later, Cynthia Rose parked and switched off the lights before killing the ignition. Taking a look at each other briefly, they both climbed out of the car and made sure to lock it before heading toward the large sciences building - just in case. When inside, Lilly tried the door handle to the planetarium, but it was indeed locked. There were no lights under the door that they could see, but she held up a finger and leaned in to listen.

"I think I heard something move. This is like when the sheriffs were looking for my brother after my parents disappeared."

Sparing only seconds to stare in terrified awe, Cynthia Rose pulled out an old, worn credit card from her back pocket and started working at the lock. While she worked, she whispered.

"This was my very first casino points card. I still keep it because it makes me remind myself that I went down a dark path, and I don't ever wanna do that again. Y'know, sometimes when I'm down low, I think about all the points that were on this card. I got something like twenty thousand. Lost my momma's house that way. It's... it hard, to think about. But I gotta, to keep from goin' back to that."

By the time she was finished speaking, her throat was tight and the corners of her eyes burned. Blinking away the sudden blurriness of the door handle, she sniffed once and finally felt the lock give way to her success. Allowing herself a grin, she stepped back and Lilly slipped inside, quiet as a ghost.

* * *

Chloe looked up from her hiding spot, surprised at the presence of anyone else. Her eyes were puffy and red, her nose was stuffed, and she was totally unprepared to be found out while she was crying and working through all her heavy emotions. Hurrying to wipe her nose and pat her face, she began to stand and started shaking her head, expecting it to be Aubrey.

"I really don't want to talk right... who are y-"

Cut off by a rough hand ruthlessly clamping down on her mouth, she was unable to emit the scream that raked its way up her throat as the much bigger figure forced her back down again. Fumbling and clumsy in his drunkenness, he was no less eager to take from yet another girl what she was not willing to give.

And no matter how she struggled and fought, Chloe was not able to stop him.

* * *

"Damn, she ain't here."

Cynthia Rose swore under her breath while reaching for her phone. Dialing Aubrey as they walked back to the car, a mounting sense of frustration developed within her, not knowing how many different places she'd be expected to go tonight before finally finding the redhead. Or before she turned up on her own, which she was sorely hoping for.

_"Chloe?"_

"No dice, boss. Chloe ain't here. Guess you haven't heard from her yet, huh?"

_"Will you try the field? I don't know why she would go there, but maybe... just try, please. I'm getting really worried."_

"What happened, Aubrey? Did someone attack you guys or something? Should we be callin' the police?"

_"No, nothing like that. Beca is what happened, and she broke Chloe's heart, and now she's gone off to who knows where. I'd search myself, but there was an.. incident.. with the stairs, and my leg is not feeling so well. Also, I want to be here if either her or that hobbit comes back."_

"I'll let you know if I find her at the field. Call me if you got 'er before then."

By then, she was already on her way, and Lilly was filling the silence with a new beat she had been working on with Donald.


	7. Who Would Do This?

By now, Aubrey was frantic.

"It should not have taken this long to find her!" she said shrilly, once they had exhausted every option. Chloe had not been found in the planetarium, on the bleachers in their football field, at the gym, at the rehearsal studio, or at their favorite diner. Having run out of places to look, Aubrey now had nothing to do and no more delegations to give. In short, she was at a loss and panicking.

"Aubrey, just take a breath, okay? Chloe's a big girl, and she'll be back soon. Don't wor-"

"You don't understand!" Aubrey broke in, near tears.

"Chloe always goes to one of her spots to calm down. She hasn't come back, and I haven't been able to find her. She hasn't called or showed up anywhere. This is **wrong**."

Fat Amy went to gently pat Aubrey's back, but the older girl wrenched away to expel her wretched anxiety in the toilet for the second time. Once her stomach was so empty it hurt, Aubrey let the toilet lid close with a slam and leaned back against the opposite peach-colored wall. Reaching to rip free a small portion of toilet paper, she spit into it with distaste and wiped around the edges of her mouth, hating herself.

Aubrey reflected on that fact while she found herself alone for the moment, and let out a cold, humorless laugh. She had been hating herself since she was a child, never accomplishing enough to earn her father's smile, never able to outrun her mother's mistakes, never able to accept less than perfection and yet never quite reaching it. Letting her head fall back to rest on the wall, she practiced a breathing technique that was meant to help calm her nerves. She had learned it from Chloe.

In a huff, she gave up and let the back of her head fall to bang against the wall again. It hurt, but not enough to distract her from the terrible feeling that clawed its way through her gut. She had gotten sick not just from anxiety, but also from that awful feeling of **knowing**. It was rock hard and cold as steel, this feeling, and she'd only experienced it once before, as a young girl in the hospital while she waited to be allowed in to see her mother.

* * *

_The doctor had told her that she'd have to wait, when she first asked to go in. The accident had been bad, he'd explained. Her mother didn't look quite the same as she had before, he said. He was very kind, but the tremble in his voice and his knotted brow turned Aubrey's small, childish heart cold. When an hour later that same doctor came to ask if she knew where her father was, she stood and looked him directly in the eye._

_"When can I see my mom?"_

_"I'm so sorry, honey..."_

* * *

Slowly standing, Aubrey splashed some cold water on her face and forced herself to take slow, measured breaths. "It doesn't mean anything," she told herself, knowing she was a liar. The heavy pounding of feet flying up the stairs made her legs shake. It was all she could do to turn the doorknob for and accept the cell phone Jessica held out to her. Her face was white as a sheet. Aubrey didn't want the news.

"Who is this?" she asked in a stranger's voice, light and airy. Instantly, she recognized the voice of the newest treble.

"Aubrey, hi. Benjamin Applebaum. I found Chloe and she was really banged up, so I brought her to St. Thomas's. Please get here soon. Someone hurt her bad, Aubrey."

St. Thomas Medical Center was about a ten minute drive from campus. Jessica, Stacie and Fat Amy all piled into Aubrey's car with her, while the rest of the girls flagged down a cab and followed.

"Ben said he would meet us at the door to show us where her room is," Jessica murmured, and was met with silence from Aubrey. Stacie leaned in to whisper to Jessica, obviously trying not to set the older girl off by pulling her into the conversation.

"Did he say anything about finding Jesse?"

When Jessica shook her head no, Stacie sighed and said, "He might even be with Bec-"

"Say that name, Stacie," came a sudden and ferocious growl from the driver's seat, "and I will stop this car right here for you to get out."

A deathly quiet pervaded after that statement, none of the girls daring to even look at each other until they reached the hospital. After parking and making their way toward the door, it became quickly obvious that no one was waiting for them.

"I don't understand. He said he'd be down here..."

Jessica trailed off, glancing nervously at Aubrey. She, too, had been silent since her outburst in the car, and continued on that tack. Sweeping through the gleaming lobby, she stopped at the reception desk, the other girls trailing behind.

"I'm here for Chloe Beale. She was brought in not too long ago."

After a few minutes and a warning from the reception nurse, they were finally able to get a wing and a room number. As Aubrey swept toward the elevators, not sparing a glance back, Stacie called to her and volunteered to stay behind for the other girls to lead them to the right room. Aside from the receptionist again reiterating that Miss Beale was receiving no visitors, she was met by heavy, echoing silence. As soon as the rest of the girls arrived, she filled them in.

"Chloe is in room 660, across in the north wing. The police are still there I guess, not letting anyone in to see her. Please guys, be careful with Aubrey. Any mention of Beca might send her over the edge. I think she blames her for this happening to Chloe."

"What happened to Chloe?" asked Lilly. Denise, who was closest to her, repeated the question.

"We don't know what happened. Apparently someone hurt her, but we don't know how or why."

"Who the fuck would do that to **_Chloe_**?" asked Cynthia Rose, unconsciously rolling her shoulders as if loosening up for battle. Beginning to walk toward the elevators, the other girls murmured their agreement. Coming up to room 660, the group of girls guessed they were headed toward the right room when they saw a police officer speaking very sternly and quickly to an increasingly agitated Aubrey. She nodded, said something more, and turned to stride quickly down the hall. Stacie approached the police officer, who sighed and held up a weary hand.

"I'm sorry ladies, but until my partner receives the victim's statement, no one is allowed in to see her. No. One."

Immediately dropping her eyes and focusing on her fidgeting fingers, Stacie's voice was low and hoarse when she spoke, as if her throat was too constricted to speak.

"Oh, officer, we only want her to rest. We're just so scared and worried for her. She's our sister," she said, a small sob escaping her throat.

Hooking his thumbs behind his gun belt, the barrel-chested cop raised his eyebrows and affected a look of wearying patience. When Stacie shuffled her feet, effectively shrinking the gap between herself and him, his expression froze and his eyes focused on her more intently.

"She's our best friend, and we don't even know what happened!"

At the sound of another strangled sob, he raised his eyes to the group. Seeing teary eyes and confronted with a massive wave of estrogen, he shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"Look, ladies. I am not at liberty to discuss the nature of Miss Beale's injuries. I really can't unless you are immediate family."

When all the girls paled and Stacie's hands flew up to her face, his expression softened.

"Why don't you girls sit down? The worst of it is over, and from what I understand, all the young lady wants is to see her friends. My partner is nearly finished taking her statement. You'll have to clear it with hospital staff, but at that point you'll be free to see her. Her injuries aren't permanent. That's not to say she's out of the woods."

Solemnly nodding, Stacie laid a gently hand on his arm and whispered a thanks, while the girls filed around the corner to the waiting room. They met up with Fat Amy and Jessica, who caught them all up while hugs were going around.

"Ben was taken in for questioning, but Chloe explained that he was the one who found her and brought her here. They let him go, but he wasn't allowed to come back until they spoke with her more. I don't know where Aubrey went. That cop told her she wasn't allowed in, and she walked away. I don't know what else she was asking him, but she wasn't happy with it."

Several minutes later, another police officer stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. She looked wary. For a few moments, she talked with her partner, who nodded grimly.

"This is the third one, Rhodes. You know what this means."

"We aren't the ones to declare this a serial," Officer Rhodes warned, putting a comforting hand on his partner's shoulder. "I know what you're thinking. All we can do is give Barney our report, do our job and hope to God he does his. I'm sorry, Kris. You know this is as far as we can go."

"Yeah. Until this happens to another girl, or they take the violence a step further. What then, Andy? How do you ignore something like this and go home and sleep at night?"

When officer Rhodes merely shrugged his shoulders, she sighed, and took a heavy step towards the waiting room. The young woman seemed to believe she already had a friend waiting to see her, so Rhodes informed the nurses that their questioning was over. Meanwhile, his partner went to inform the waiting room in general that room 660 was again open for visitors.

The officer named Kris raised her brow slightly in surprise when she saw the waiting room was full. They all seemed to turn their heads in unison, fear etched on every face. It was encouraging for Kris, though only slightly.

"Are all you ladies here for Chloe Beale?"

She was met by stifled sniffles as every one of them stood expectantly. Never one for much tact, she huffed out a breath and prepared herself to say her next sentence as quickly as possible. Before she could, Fat Amy cut her off with a "What happened?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss her injuries with anyone but her immediate family," came the automatic response.

"Are we _allowed_ to see her now?" came a bitter voice from the hallway. The officer turned and, upon recognizing Aubrey's acerbic tones, sighed.

"Yes, though she is tired. I'm not certain how willing to talk she might be..."

Her voice trailed off and she threw her hands up, letting them drop to her side again. By the end of the sentence, she was standing alone, all the girls having already moved en masse to Chloe's room. Following their trail, she motioned to Officer Rhodes that they should go.

"Hey, Chlo'..."

Aubrey walked over to Chloe's side, her voice thick with tears as she reached out to touch the back of her hand. Chloe smiled softly and began to fidget with the edge of her blanket as the rest of the Bellas shuffled in to the room awkwardly. Moments ago, all she wanted was the support of these ladies. Now, with all those nervous eyes on her, she just wanted to be alone. Aubrey was speaking, sniffling, begging to know what happened and if she was okay. Finally, Stacie broke from the group and walked around to the other side of the bed, reaching down and enveloping Chloe in a tight hug.

"You're not a freak show, honey," she whispered softly, so none of the others could hear. "We love you and we're here for you. If you don't want to talk about it, you **don't** have to. Remember that."

Chloe nodded and fiercely hugged Stacie back, finally beginning to sob. The sound was heartbreaking and full of shame, causing Aubrey to cease her questioning. The rest of the girls were taken aback for a moment, but each one of them moved cautiously forward and laid a hand in comfort and support somewhere on or near Chloe.

When the racking sobs finally subsided enough for her to begin to breathe normally again, she wiped her face and pushed the heels of her hands into her eyes so hard, spots began to dance behind her eyelids.

"I.. I was.."

This must be what Aubrey felt like, when so much shame and fear mixed into a sick ball in this pit of her stomach at the thought of admitting the truth. She was going to be sick, she knew it. Focusing only on breathing for several moments, she started again, slower and more quietly. She had just been pried of every detail she could remember by the cop that had just been in there.. she didn't want to have to talk about it again. But these girls deserved to know.

"I.. h-he made me.. I don't know who he was. I thought it was Aubrey actually, or one of you.. he hit me and forced me to.. I can't.. I just can't."

Chloe buried her face in her hands again and brought her knees up to her chest, shaking her head so hard the bed rocked. Another wrenching sob ripped its way up from her chest, and she was inconsolable for several minutes. Even after her wailing cries faded to sniffling hiccups, she refused to remove her hands from her face. There was no way she'd be ready for the horrified looks from the people she'd come to count as family. These girls surely would feel too ashamed to be around her, too awkward and too disgusted. They were begin to avoid her, they would abandon her because of how tainted she'd become. She was _that_ girl, now.

Finally, Aubrey's soft, large hands wrapped around her wrists and gently brought her hands from her face. Instead of disgust, her pond green eyes were full of concern. Turning to look at the rest of the girls, Chloe saw the same expression on all their faces. None of them had backed away. None had turned to go. They reached out to her, some holding hands, some gripping the rail on the side of her bed. They all looked as if they were terrified of losing her.

After a few moments, she broke into a peal of laughter and, confused, the girls looked at each other before noticing that Lilly had begun to play with Chloe's toes through the blanket. Looking up with her face completely serious, she stared for a moment before going back to playing. Ashley giggled, sending them all into a small fit of laughter. Once they were able to get control of their mirth, Chloe wiped her eyes and looked lovingly at this strange, dysfunctional group of girls.

"Thank you," she said with feeling, and immediately everyone relaxed, Chloe letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. So nothing had changed. These girls were still there, and still cared about her. That meant so much. Though, there was one face she couldn't help but notice had been missing. Locking eyes with Stacie for a moment, she silently asked what she dare not mention with Aubrey around. When Stacie gave an imperceptible shake of her head, Chloe understood all she needed to know.

Beca was gone.


	8. Introspective

Benjamin Applebaum was in the middle of a very heated battle of Magic: The Gathering when he got the call.

"Hey, Jess! You won't believe this, I'm winning with only... oh, no, it's okay. Wondering what? ...seriously? Well, I haven't heard from Jesse since yesterday. What happened?"

As he listened to the short recap of the story, Benji reluctantly gathered up his things, much to the groans of the group he was playing against. He gave a half-smile and shrugged, pointing to his ear in response to the objections of the other players. Brow furrowed at the events of the story, he promised Jessica that he would get back to them as soon as Jesse was found. Confused as to why Aubrey would want Jesse and not Beca, he nonetheless walked the short distance back to their shared dorm.

They weren't dating, really. She took Aubrey's rule very seriously, and decided that they would hold off getting together officially until summer started. This bothered Benji not at all. He was still getting used to the idea of even having a girlfriend, really. It never really mattered to him before, not having one. But now, he was constantly asking Jesse questions, and did his best to make Jess smile. They hadn't kissed yet, or held hands. Truthfully, thinking about that made his mouth go dry.

He was still deep in thought when he entered the room, and was struck by the smell of old popcorn. Jesse's laptop was still on his bed, plugged into the wall charger, with a cold bowl of half-eaten popcorn next to it. There were a few kernels on the bedspread, which was fluffed and uneven. Obviously, he had left in a hurry, and hadn't been back since. How long ago that was, Benji had no idea.

After cleaning up the small mess, Benji threw on a sweater and tried dialing Jesse for the third time. It wasn't like him to not answer his phone, and Benji had a bad feeling about it, plus the evidence of a sudden departure. Jess hadn't given him a lot of information, but Beca was apparently involved in a fight with Chloe and Aubrey, and that worried him.

Jesse had certainly become his best friend in the time they'd spent together, and especially after their performance at the Finals, he'd gone so far as to consider him the brother he never had. But surprisingly, he'd found himself getting close to Beca, too. He knew that she'd probably never admit it out loud, but he thought of her as a good friend, and she had once told him that he'd seen more of her emotions in the past few months than anyone had in the last few years. That meant a lot to him.

There was a moment, very briefly, when he was holding her over spring break. It had been very awkward, because she was crying and they were hiding in the shadows on the ledge of the riff-off pool. She had called him and asked him to come meet her there, and immediately threw herself at him, tears everywhere. Completely unprepared for this, he pat her on the back a few times, trying to decide if this was in any way appropriate.

When he finally realized how upset she honestly had to be, he gently wrapped his arms around her, murmuring useless phrases of comfort that he knew weren't doing any good. In the end, he fell quiet, even after his hands turned blue with cold and the wicked cramp in his shoulder from the way she clutched him hurt so bad it burned. Benji thought he loved her then, because of the way she never showed herself to anyone but him, not even Jesse.

But then the moment passed, and she released him, sniffling pathetically and looking up into his eyes. There was a deep sadness in them, made up of guilt and lost hope. And he knew that their friendship wasn't going to last long, and it definitely wouldn't turn into anything more. So as quickly as the feeling had come, he let it float away.

Experiencing firsthand how crushed she had made his best friend, Benji still found it hard to give up on her as easily as Jesse had. There was so many more emotional obstacles for her to overcome than Jesse knew, and if he was able to just stick it out and fight for Beca, she was bound to be an invaluable person to have by your side. Of course, this was only a hunch. He didn't have many of those, but this one he couldn't shake.

When finally they did get together after Finals, Benji couldn't have been more pleased. Both of his friends got the happiness they deserved, and things looked like they could go nowhere but up. And then, somehow, Beca manages to become the middle of yet another fight. As Benji walked toward the upper ledges of the pool area, he shook his head in mild amusement. Since she had gone there before, he thought to just check and see if maybe her or Jesse were there now. What he actually found was Chloe, in a way he hoped to never see anyone again.

* * *

Being escorted out of St. Thomas by the police was one of the worst moments of Benji's life. For a very scary few minutes, they'd actually thought _he_ was the one who could do such a thing to Chloe! The thought made him feel very ill, not least because of the state he found her in.

There was blood on her chin and running down her throat from the split in her lip, and several bruises across her upper body, most of which was exposed to the night. She was crying so hard that her voice had become hoarse and strained, and she begged him to leave her alone, over and over again.

He tried very hard not to look at her, out of shame and fear and a misguided attempt at helping her to keep some of her mostly shredded modesty. Benji saw bloody underwear wrapped around her naked left thigh, her right one also covered in deep scratches and bruises. Immediately removing his jacket and offering it to her, he averted his eyes while she pulled her jeans back onto her hips, unable to button them closed because the zipper was broken and the button gone. Her shirt was dirty and smelled of sour beer and sweat, hanging from her shoulders in tatters, her bra snapped in half and laying next to her on the ground.

Groaning and crying, Chloe managed to zip herself up to the neck in the proffered jacket, and accepted his help in standing after initially refusing to let him near her. They simply left her bra and shirt behind, and he carried her shoes in his left hand while helping her away from the pool with his right arm.

Now, the morning after finding her in such a horrible state, Benji brought a box with him to the hospital. It was still very early, and he doubted any of the others would be visiting her that time in the morning. After winding his way back to her room, he gently knocked on the door and, after a moment, opened it.

Benji drew in a sharp breath as he quietly walked in, observing Chloe laying there, seemingly still asleep. The part of her face that hadn't been repeatedly forced into the concrete was facing the doorway, and from here, she almost looked peaceful. For a moment, his heart dropped, thinking sadly of how pretty she looked and how deeply sorry he was that such a thing had happened to her. Dropping his eyes and his frown, he quickly crossed to the window ledge and set down the box, turning to leave immediately after. Before he could make it back to the door, however, he heard a sigh and her throat clearing softly.

"Benji?"

Flinching as if he'd been threatened, he turned to see Chloe's piercingly bright blue eyes boring into him.

"Hi, Chloe. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just thought, you know. I brought you something. Maybe it will help. I don't know."

He'd always known that he tended to ramble, especially when nervous. Hopefully she would just let him leave. Looking down to his toes, he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Thanks, Benji.. you don't have to leave right away, you know."

This was definitely a bad idea.

"Oh, okay.."

Stiffly, he walked over to a chair by the window, near where he'd set the unmarked brown shoe box that he brought. Sitting and still keeping his eyes strategically off of her, he took out his color-changing scarf that belonged to his magic set, and began to absent-mindedly play with it.

"How are you, Chloe? Are you okay? I mean, you're probably not okay. I don't know why I said that. I wouldn't be okay in your place. I've been beat up before too, and it took me a long while to get over it the first few times. I mean, not like you have. I mean, I.. I just.."

Flustered and turning bright red, he took another big, sharp breath, and forced himself to close his mouth.

"It's okay, I understand. Thank you, for asking and for coming. It was nice of you. I'm.. well, in the light of the morning, and with you here, it seems like more of a nightmare than anything. What did you bring?"

Benji finally looked up to her then, and there was a pain in his chest at the haunted look in her eyes. A frown replaced the usual bright smile he knew she wore, and she just seemed somehow.. deflated.

"Oh, nothing. It was probably silly. Here, take a look."

He stood and handed her the box nervously, accidentally hitting his leg against her bedside in doing so. After trying to play it off as if it wasn't absolutely killing his knee, he sat back down again, apprehensive and also eager to see how she would react to the box's contents. She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes, and opened it. Then, she smiled wider, a little of her usual self shining through.

"Really? How do you know exactly what I'd been wishing for?" she laughed, taking out a long box of Russell Stover's chocolates and immediately popping one filled with caramel in her mouth.

"The chocolates are because, well, they keep sadness away. Even if you're a muggle - oh, sorry, Harry Potter reference - I mean, almost everyone takes some comfort in chocolate when they're sad. I know I do. And the cookies are from my mom, she sends them every Monday, to help for the week ahead, she says. And the stuffed turtle, his name is Shelly. I saw him downstairs, on the way in. I just figured, sometimes it's nice to have someone to talk to, who you don't have to worry about what they think or what they might say back to you."

For a few long moments, Chloe was quiet. This was a gesture she could never repay, and there was much deeper thought put behind these items than one would initially realize. She contemplated that for a minute or two, her smile growing as she picked up the turtle. These gifts were among the most thoughtful she'd ever received, and came from a totally unexpected source. Even when she thought it would be a long time before she ever smiled again, she found that this simple box had made her cheeks hurt. Looking back up to Benji's nervous brown eyes, she was reminded of the stark fear she saw in them just the night before, and her smile faded slightly.

"Thank you, Benji. Really. This.. this is really awesome, and I love it. More than I can say. I'm sure Shelly and I are going to be fast friends," she said, and held the turtle close to her face. A smile bloomed across Benji's features, and he stood, taking the box back when she handed it to him.

"It was nice of you to come by. Really. If you hadn't.. I appreciate it, Benji."

Enough feeling went into those words that they both knew she didn't just mean him visiting her in the hospital. Meeting her eyes one last time, he nodded and left.

Alone in the room now, Chloe looked down again at her simple gifts, and felt a sense of shame and guilt over what she had put Benji through in the last day. He seemed like he was a really nice guy, and what he'd done for her.. she knew, somehow, that he would never tell anyone about the state he found her in, without her having to ask.

It was awkward to see him again, and she couldn't deny how it made her remember the events of the night before. But there were no more tears that her body could spare right now, and as she set the food aside and rolled over, she squeezed Shelly and thought that she wouldn't be able to forget it anytime soon.

As she turned that over in her mind, she specifically thought about the words that had been growled into her face as her attacker had pulled out of her the night before. He'd threatened her and demanded she forget all about what just happened. Shivering violently, her face screwing up into the side of her pillow, the memory washed over her anew. Curling into the fetal position, her sobs were dry this time as she hugged her torso tightly, remembering how he'd viciously kicked her in the stomach before walking away, whistling a broken, disjointed tune.


	9. The Prodigal

**A/N: I know I said I probably wouldn't interject in the story again, but I lied. Just wanted to say sorry for the long wait! It's been great hearing the theories in my PM's and reviews for who might have been the one to hurt Chloe, and what you think Beca should do. Keep your thoughts coming, because I love hearing them. Will we finally find out where Beca went? Read on and find out. (Then review!)**

* * *

A knock on the door made Chloe look up, and she gave a soft smile for the older nurse who leaned into her room and asked how she was doing. Her name was Sharon, and she had been sweet from the first moment she met Chloe. The redhead, who was bubbly and energetic by nature, could tell that Sharon was one of those people who genuinely cared, and who had a lot of emotional burdens placed on her daily. She was that rare individual who gladly accepted them, and did what she could to ease the pain of others. Chloe was deeply grateful for her, because she also worked the night shift, and sometimes they would sit and talk when she wasn't able to sleep.

"Hey baby. How you feelin'?"

"I'm alright. Dr. Greenwalsh was just in a little bit ago. I'm getting discharged soon, so.. yeah. I guess I'm alright."

Sharon frowned, and Chloe couldn't blame her. Even to herself, her voice sounded flat and not at all excited about the prospect of getting out of her. She hated hospitals. Maybe not as much as Aubrey, but hospitals gave her the willies. She should have been much happier to leave than she actually was.

"Well, I'm glad you're going home. You need your rest. Now, you got a male visitor out here. You up for it? Says his name is Thomas," she added quickly, seeing the color drain from Chloe's face.

"Oh.. yeah, sure. I'm fine. Thanks, Sharon."

"Alright. I'm right out here, baby."

Tilting her head and raising her eyebrows at Chloe, the younger girl knew that was meant as a comfort, in case she needed someone. Her protectiveness made Chloe smile, and she was still smiling when Tom walked in. Seeing her expression, his own lit up, and he let out a big breath of relief. Walking in and setting down a small bouquet of yellow daises, he pulled up a chair and grinned at her, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, man, babe. I'm so glad you're okay. I heard you were in the hospital and I didn't know what to think. What happened to your face?"

Tom reached out, meaning to gently stroke her cheek, but Chloe instinctively flinched away. Hurt flashed in his eyes, followed by confusion, and it wrenched in Chloe's gut. _'It's not his fault,'_ she told herself. _'It wasn't him, he did nothing wrong...'_ Still, the thought of him touching her made her skin slick with sweat. She turned to face the window, hiding the left side of her face, which was still black around her eye and blotchy red everywhere else.

"Hey, Tom."

He sat back in the chair and huffed, clearly thrown off and unsure what to do with himself now. In their entire relationship, she had never rebuffed him like this, and while he was working out his confusion, he tried to fill the awkward silence that had descended.

"Why didn't you call me? I would've been here for ya, babe. I would'a came, hell, I didn't even know you were in the hospital until I heard a couple of guys on the team talking about it. Even then, I didn't know it was you 'til just after practice. No one told me that anything happened to you."

By the end, he was quickly forgetting her small rejection as it turned over into worry. They had only been officially dating for a few weeks, having been mostly on and off throughout the year until spring break. In that amount of time, Chloe had managed to learn Tom's emotions, and could almost always tell what he was thinking, or if he was about to become angry or sad. It wasn't hard - his emotional range usually didn't stray too far from his normally cool, laidback demeanor. He was easy to be with, and suddenly she found herself utterly bored with him because of that fact.

* * *

After leaving the hospital, Benji was forced to take a cab back to Barden. He had gotten back to the school the night before realizing that his car was gone, and woke up this morning to find that it still hadn't found its way back to the parking lot. Sincerely hoping that his car was missing because Jesse was too, Benji refused to think that it had been stolen or otherwise misappropriated. Optimistic until the last, he tried again to reach Jesse on his cell phone for what felt like the hundredth time. He was surprised, then, when the other line actually picked up.

"Hey, man."

"Jesse, hey! I've been trying to get in touch with you since yesterday. I mean, I'm sure you see your missed calls. Where are you? You need to know something about Beca."

"If you have any insight into her head right now, man, I'd love to hear it. See you when you get back."

After hanging up, Benji realized just how dejected his friend had sounded. It was strange and out of place for someone who was normally so goofy and happy, and he guessed that something else might have happened with Beca that he wasn't yet aware of. Only she was able to make Jesse sound this sad.

Jesse looked up from his spot on the bed when Benji opened the door to their dorm. Meeting his eyes, Benji noted the despairing look in them, and walked over to his bed after closing the door. Sitting on the edge, he faced Jesse who was sitting on his own bed, shoes and jacket still on. It looked as if he hadn't slept at all, and had just got in.

"What happened?" he asked innocently, wanting to know just what was on Jesse's mind before giving him some more bad news.

"Beca broke up with me. Guess Hat was right when he said we wouldn't even last a day."

"Oh, man. I'm sorry, Jesse. Why?"

"That's just it, Benj. I don't know. She called me last night, and asked me to meet her at the radio station. So I did, and she was really upset about something, but wouldn't tell me what it is. She actually got mad at me for asking about it. Then she told me that she was leaving, and asked me to drive her to the airport. I asked her where all her stuff was, like her laptop and everything. She just got super pissed at me, yelled at me for being too good, whatever that means, and left. I tried to stop her and make sense of what the hell was going on, but she got in a cab and left. I've been trying to call her but I haven't heard from her since. I didn't want to go over to her dorm because I didn't want to see all her stuff gone. And her roommate scares me. Sorry I borrowed your car, but I was just kinda driving all night. I didn't know what to do. I still don't."

At the end of his explanation, Jesse looked up and shook his head slowly, scrunching his eyes tight and letting out a sigh. Feeling terrible, Benji took a deep breath, knowing what he was about to say wouldn't help his friend feel any better at all.

"Jesse, I'm sorry. But I think I know why she went a little crazy. There's a lot that happened last night, and a lot she doesn't even know about yet. Maybe I can explain..."

* * *

Chloe couldn't believe how absolutely dense Tom was being.

"Tom. Honey. Stop. I'm sorry, I'm... I know what you're trying to do, and it's very sweet. But I just need a little bit of time to clear my head. Alone, Tom. I'm sorry."

Clearly, he was still not getting it, because his expression hadn't changed from confused to angry just yet.

"I'm breaking up with you."

Bingo.

Instantly, the confusion left his eyes to be replaced by a dark scowl. He dropped to the back of his chair in a huff, and threw the bouquet of flowers roughly onto her bedside table.

"Chloe, we've been over this!" he exclaimed, lifting and dropping his hands as if _she_ were the one being dense. His eyebrows raised at her expectantly, a sign that he was waiting for her to agree and take back her statement. Instead, she stared at him.

After almost a full minute of awkward silence, she sighed and leaned forward in bed, wincing at the pain it brought her bruised ribs. The sight of her moving closer to him must have appeased Tom somewhat, because he leaned forward as well, his elbows on his knees. When she reached a hand out to him, he happily accepted it, his customary lazy grin slowly spreading across his face again.

"See, babe? You know it's crazy when you say stuff like this. We've just-"

"Tom, it's over. It's done. Okay? I know you say that you want to work it out, but..."

She trailed off as he snatched his hand back, standing abruptly as he shook his head at her. Incredulous, he began to stupidly wave his arms around to somehow help make his point.

"Chlo', baby, c'mon! Okay, we are not breaking up. I mean, I love you!"

He shouted this last at her as if she were stupid for not knowing such a simple piece of information. A headache began to throb behind her right eye, and she began to get irritated.

"Tom, listen. I know you say you love me, and you've been nothing but sweet, but-"

"Then what is it? You got hurt baby, you don't know what you're saying. It's okay, Ronnie hit his head skateboarding once and he was seeing shit that wasn't there and stuff. It was really funny. You're gonna be okay, don't worry. I'll take care of you."

"Tom, come on. Please, I don't care about Ronnie, and I didn't fall off a skateboard-"

"Then what is it, hon? If you would just tell me what happened-"

"Tom, will you _shut up?!_ Stop interrupting me, you know I can't stand it. I know what you'll think if I tell you what happened, and it's not worth it. I'm sorry, but I can't keep doing this. You're a great guy, and you're so much fun to be around. But I just really need to be alone for a while. I'm sorry. Please go."

After a few beats of silence and him staring at the floor, he let out a long breath that she hadn't realized he'd been holding. With a small nod, he turned and left, not bothering to look up at her before doing so.

About an hour later, Chloe hung up the phone with Aubrey as she stepped out of the taxi that took her home. Bree had apologized profusely for not being able to come pick her up, but there was a lot of catching up she needed to do with her career advisor, and she would make their favorite chicken and noodles tonight when she got home. Without a second thought, Chloe forgave her best friend, and walked briskly toward the front door while hanging up with her. She'd been discharged from the hospital only a few minutes after Tom left, and had shared a hug with Sharon while taking in the words of wisdom the older woman had provided.

Now, as she nervously punched in the key code to the outer door of her apartment, she couldn't help but look all around her, feeling a foreboding prickling sensation down her spine as if she were being watched from behind. She couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her lips as she pulled the door closed behind her, comforted in the reassuring _*click*_ of the outer lock.

After slowly making her way upstairs, she wasn't surprised to find her front door unlocked. Aubrey must've had maintenance reset it on new hinges after Fat Amy got carried away with it, but the lock seemed to have been blown out of the wall entirely. She was surprised, however, to see a small, dark clad figure perched atop one of the bar stools in front of the breakfast bar. Immediately, her stomach began to churn as she closed the door to her apartment behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

Her voice came out small and wavering, not at all fierce and angry as she had wanted it to be. Clearing her still sore throat and wincing at the pain it brought, she crossed her arms and stood resolutely where she was. Even though it felt as if the air around her shot up twenty degrees, she was unwilling to take off the big rose colored aviators that covered most of her battered face, or the scarf she wore to cover the dark imprints of the large fingers that had been wound around her throat only the night before. Through the dark tint of her sunglasses, she saw the face before her lose some of its coldness, melting instead into confusion, and finally concern.

"Chloe, what the fuck happened to you?" asked Beca uncertainly.

"You don't want to know."


End file.
